


It All Started with an OSHA Violation

by WokaDokaDee



Category: Friday Night Funkin' (Video Game), Spooky Month (Short Films - Sr Pelo)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Concussions, Gen, Mutation, My First AO3 Post, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:22:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29808366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WokaDokaDee/pseuds/WokaDokaDee
Summary: Skid & Pump find themselves involved with a strange science experiment soon gone horribly wrong. Follow them on their journey as they try to survive in this abyss.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 86





	1. Counting the Days

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own most of the characters in this fic, & the ones I do own were created solely for this fic. All Spooky month characters belong to Sr. Pelo, & all Friday Night Funkin characters belong to ninjamuffin99, PhantomArcade, evilsk8r, & KawaiSprite.
> 
> This work also exists on Wattpad (StarberrySpider666) & Quotev (Wokadee)

Pump’s father was enrolling him in a strange science experiment for unknown reasons, & Skid’s mom was enrolling her child because Skid wanted to join Pump in whatever the heck this is. Neither child knew what they were signed up for. All they knew was October 18th. Today was Monday the 11th. 

It’s a typical day for the duo: school, explore, meet new people, buy candy cans, spooky dance.

**Tuesday the 12th:**

It was raining, so they stayed inside & played games after school. Pump was nervous about this little experiment

**Wednesday the 13th:**

“Pump, are you excited for this cool experiment?” Skid asked. 

“No, actually,” Pump replied, “I’m really scared.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there too.”

**Thursday the 14th:**

Skid’s mom was making milkshakes for both of them. She was concerned about the safety of these children regarding the experiment.

**Friday the 15th:**

The days seemed to have flown by at this point. It’s almost scary.

**Saturday the 16th:**

The weekend has come. Probably the only weekend that Pump was not looking forward to. The kids didn’t do anything new that day.

**Sunday the 17th:**

The experiment was tomorrow. Skid was excited. Pump was not.

“Come on, Pump,” Skid reassures, “it isn’t gonna be that bad.”

“How do you know that?” Pump asks. He  _ didn’t _ know, he just wanted to reassure him.

“Well,” Skid states, “I’ll at least be there if you need me.”


	2. Monday the 18th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I put the generic story summary on the first chapter. Whoops :P

The day has come.

Skid’s mother was driving him to the location, & Skid was excited to be a part of this experiment. But he was even more excited to see Pump. Unlike Skid, Pump was absolutely mortified.

Once they arrived at this strange building, she parks & escorts Skid inside. Pump & his father had arrived before them & were waiting for them inside the building, with Pump hiding behind a decorative plant.

“Oh hey, Pump!” Skid greets.

“H-hey Skid…” Pump replies with a chill in his voice.

“Is everything alright?”

“N-no…”

“...You’re still scared of them, are you?”

“Yes. &-& I don’t think I’ll ever  _ not _ be afraid.”

Skid nods & thinks for a bit before having an idea.

“How about we do the spooky dance? I’m sure that would help with the fears.”

Pump nods & comes out from beneath the houseplant. The two get into position before doing their little dance. It helps clear Pump’s head, even for a little.

“Skid, Pump,” the man at the counter calls, “Please come put on your wrist bands.”

The two children walked over to the man & held out their wrists for the man to put on paper bands.

“Alright, you’ll be called for the testing shortly,” the man states before going into the room in the back. Pump picked at the band, associating it with all this weird science stuff. Skid, on the other hand, found the band interesting & pretended it was a Ben 10 Omnitrix. They decided to play games on their phones until the man called them back over, then they handed their phones to their respective parental figures & followed the man.

They went past several odd rooms, each getting creepier & creepier & probably more fatal until they reached one with two elevators.

“For this experiment, we will be testing the effects of the depths of vanity on juvenile test subjects. Now would both of you please step into the elevator on the  _ left? _ ”

The Spookeez oblige to the best of their ability & enter the elevator on the right instead. The man didn’t notice this error & closed the glass door.

“You will be faced with creatures of unknown origin, & hexes of varying kinds. I hope you understand this,” the man states, his hand on a lever. “Now good luck.”

He pulls the lever. The elevator starts to lower.


	3. Down Below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skid & Pump get experimented on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the mutation occurs btw

As the elevator lowered, so did Skid’s enthusiasm. The atmospheric pressure was giving him & Pump a headache, & there was barely any light in the elevator. This was starting to become intimidating.

The elevator soon goes through a world of teal & stars, & the kids’ hopes light up upon seeing the Eyes of the Universe off in the distance.

“Hiya, Eyes,” Pump calls out. They couldn’t hear him. The elevator kept lowering.

The next thing they see is a shallow corridor, with bright lights, white walls, & a white door. If they tilted their head far enough to the side, they could see the hallway was forked, with the second side likely leading to the elevator they were supposed to take. The elevator kept lowering.

They soon end up in a tube within a strange underground water pool, & the elevator comes to a halt. The cave had a sickly green aura to it, & Pump found himself retching just looking at it. Skid looked around & saw that some of the green water… if you could even call it that… was dripping through a leak in the tube.

“Is the water supposed to come out?” Skid cringed, pinching his nose as the stench of this strange fluid leaks into the elevator. Pump shuddered at the thought of the tube breaking & drowning them both, curling up & stimming with his hands.

A thud was heard. A loud & abrupt thud at that. The Spookeez got startled & turned towards the sound. Another thud. It seemed to be coming from a large fish trying to bust through the glass.  _ Thud. _ The tube thankfully didn’t budge.  _ Thud. _ It didn’t stop the creature from trying though.  _ Thud. _ & it didn’t stop the children from being scared half to death.

“S-Skid… I’m scared…” Pump quavered.  _ Thud. _

“M-me too…” Skid replies, reaching for Pump’s hand.  _ Thud. _

Pump gently grabbed Skid’s hand & squeezed it tightly. The creature then bares its teeth at them before swimming away.

“It’s leaving?” Skid puzzled, although slightly relieved.

“Seems like it.” Pump responded. “What was that thing anyway?” They started to talk for what seemed like hours. & whatever energy was in this god-forsaken place started to change their bodies.

Skid was the first to notice this, watching as the skeleton suit he wore calcified around his skull & his lower arms & legs peeled their skin & flesh to just be bones. His remaining flesh changed into a black void-like substance with extra ribs circling his chest & with his spine & collarbone exposed. It was as if he merged with his costume, & now he feels cold & naked. He sat down, curled up, & shivered from the cold on his blood-covered limbs. He was also in an oddly delayed pain, whimpering from phantom pains on his limbs, & lightly rubbing them. How much worse could it ge-

“PUMP!” Skid shrieked, noticing his friend crying & coughing up blood & pumpkin seeds. The plastic shell of his pumpkin mask seemed to have been replaced by a real pumpkin, & the stem seems to be sprouting leaves. Although they could not see it, roots were making their way through Pump’s body, impaling his stomach. Skid, still holding Pump’s hand, tries to comfort him.

“I-it’s okay,” Skid fretted hopelessly, “I’m here.” Both of their bodies were trembling in pain & fear. The transformation had stopped, & the elevator started slowly ascending.

“S-skid?” Pump asked wearily, “a-am I going to die?” Skid didn’t know how to answer this question. He just sat next to him & held him close. They watched as the elevator ascended. Out of the green depths, past the white room, & the Eyes of the Universe before it came to an abrupt halt following a strange noise.

“...What was that?” Skid sputtered, whilst hugging Pump. The elevator soon started to tilt a little.

“Uh oh.”

Something within the shaft soon broke, & the elevator started to plummet.


	4. Mirror Migrane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They survived the elevator fall. But where are they?

“...What happened?” Skid asks groggily as he regains consciousness, “where am I?” He suddenly heard muffled speaking beneath his tummy & looked down to see he was laying on top of Pump’s face.

“Oh, sorry.” He quickly rolled off of him, eliciting a gasp for air. Oddly enough, Pump seemed mostly unscathed by what happened in the elevator, save for a few cuts & bruises. Skid, on the other hand…

He tried to sit up & winced upon feeling a splitting headache, gently holding his head near the injury. By the looks of it, something had hit him in the forehead & made a small crack in his skull.

“Are you okay?” Pump sat up & asked.

“M-my head hurts,” Skid whined in response. He shifted his hand to show the crack.

“Well, what does your mom usually do when you get hurt?”

“She c-cleans it off, puts a b-bandaid on it, &-uh, & kisses it better,” Skid sighed, “but mom isn’t here right now.” Pump pauses to think before licking his thumb & rubbing it on the booboo. He then pulls a bandaid out of his pants pocket & places it on the wound before giving it a soft peck.

“That was nice,” thanked Skid as he examined his surroundings. The glass door of the elevator had shattered, & the ceiling had caved in. There was also light coming from somewhere above the elevator. Pump crawled out of this disaster with Skid following to find a strange tunnel with a small hanging mirror in front of the entrance. There were hanging lights all down the tunnel, with the one above the hanging mirror to be the brightest. This mirror was just an ordinary mirror, nothing special about it. The Spookeez looked into it & saw themselves in their new bodies. They were no longer human, but what were they?

They walked past the hanging mirror & started to walk through the tunnel. As they walked along, they found more & more mirrors. Unlike the hanging mirror, these mirrors each showed something special. One showed what Skid & Pump used to look like without their costumes. One showed colored strings on their hands, with a couple of the strings connecting Skid & Pump to each other. One showed the kids as adults, & also had a college sweater in front of the mirror. Skid promptly put on the said sweater because he was cold. Another mirror showed them as they would in a generic carnival house of mirrors, but there were no deformities to the mirror that could cause this.

They kept traveling deeper & deeper into the hall, seeing mirror after mirror & even a few more hanging mirrors until they got to the end of the hall where they saw three large mirrors standing side by side.

The central mirror seemed to show the deepest desires of anyone who looks into it. For Skid, it was him, Pump, & his mother all cuddling together in a blanket. The kids have never been mutated in this desire. For Pump, it was love & affection from his parents. Again, he had not merged with his costume in his desire.

The mirror to the left showed something more gruesome. The vision in this mirror showed Skid & Pump being corrupted by this weird infectious black & red stuff. Skid looked away, not bearing to see Pump in such a position.

The mirror to the right seemed to be the most mediocre of the three. It just showed Skid with orange bones & Pump with a white pumpkin…

…& a lime monster behind them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🍋


	5. Mr. Lemon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They met a new friend. But perhaps he isn’t all that he seems

The mirror wasn’t lying; someone was behind them. The Spookeez turned around anxiously & found themselves face to face with a lemon monster.

“ **Did you fall down the elevator too?** ” The monster asked. Pump’s eyes were wide in awe as he stared up at the monster. Skid was also awestruck but had enough composure to answer.

“I am Skid, this is Pump, & yes, the elevator broke,” Skid replied “Who are  _ you _ ?”

“ **I go by many names,** ” the monster responded, “ **Lemon Demon, Lemon Monster, LD, Neil Cicierega, or just Monster.** ”

“Can I just call you Mr. Lemon?”

“ **Yes, that works too.** ” The monster gently caressed Skid’s head, then Pump’s, & he seemed to be drooling.

“ **A completely exposed skull,** ” he mumbled to himself while staring intently at Skid, “ **this would be quite interesting to work with.** ” He then shifted his gaze & fixed it on Pump. “ **& a plant head… where would the line between gourd & flesh be se-** ”

“Are you okay?” Puzzled Pump, finding the monster’s behavior unnerving.

“ **Y-yes, yes, I’m fine,** ” the monster blurted in response. In truth, he was terribly famished & looking for a kids meal. The kids, too, were getting hungry, & the monster sensed this. He decided to use this to his advantage.

“ **Say, little ones,” the beast started to persuade, “I think I might have something you might like.** ”

“Is it candy for Spooky Month?” Asked Skid, a smile forming on his face.

“ **…no, but it is food. Follow me.** ” He led the two to the carnival mirror & pushed it to reveal it’s a secret door leading to a secret room. The room was lit by an oil lantern containing a fluorescent light bulb, & had boxes all over the place containing voids, various ingredients, & cooking supplies. There was also a cauldron in the middle of the room. The two gasp in excitement.

“A spooky room for Spooky Month!” They exclaim in unison as they enter the room & do the spooky dance. The monster allowed them to, then closed the door behind them & reached into a box to pull out small potatoes & a stick of butter, setting them aside before filling up the cauldron with water through mysterious means.

Once he finished making boiled potatoes with salt & butter, he served them to the Spookeez with toothpicks.

“Gracias, Mr. Lemon,” Pump thanked before starting to eat some. He & Skid were sharing a meal, but the lemon demon doesn’t plan on feeding them. He just needed to fatten them up.


	6. Or Maybe Turn Them Into Broth (Lalala lala)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys end up in a boiling pot. How will they get out?

After a while, the kids had let their guard down & were sword fighting with large wooden spoons. Pump knocked the spoon out of Skid’s hand with a hearty swing before pointing it at him.

“Sir Pump reigns victorious!” the victor resounded as the loser picked up his spoon. They kept playing like this while the monster was starting to prepare the broth of a very sinister child soup. Fill the cauldron, let the water heat, & retrieve the main ingredient. He approached the children with a relatively disarming look on his face.

“ **Little ones, would you mind doing me a favor?** ” he coaxed the children, who turned to face them.

“What is it?” Skid asked as he put his spoon down. The monster picked up Skid & brought him to the cauldron, filled with hot water. Pump followed them curiously & stood just beside the monster as he gently placed Skid into the water. The boy flinched as the heat from the water touched his toes before he was then placed into the pot. He quickly got used to the heat, settling down a bit. Pump was next. The monster picked him up & set him across from Skid. Pump found the heat uncomfortable, as well as the fact that were both put in there while clothed. Of course, having a stranger that you met in a cave undress you wouldn’t be any better.

“ **I’m sure you’ll make a wonderful delicacy~** ” the beast sang, “ **Now let’s add some herbs & spices.** ” The Spookeez looked at each other in confusion before Skid shrugged it off. Pump, however, wasn’t so easily tamed.

The water got warmer & warmer, starting to cause the kids more discomfort. The lemon had added various ingredients to the cauldron. Flour, oregano, basil, rosemary, parsley-

“ **Grrrah! I’m out of paprika!** ” He growled in frustration before deciding to do without. He then added cayenne pepper, celery seed, chopped onions… & human fingers? The kids were naive, but they weren’t  _ that _ stupid. They connected the dots that Mr. Lemon wanted to eat them real quick. The water was nearing boiling point, & the heat of the water was starting to become painful. How do they plan to escape this? The monster grabbed the spoon Pump had & started to stir the broth, chuckling to himself as they watched the two frantically try to find a way out of the stew without being ripped to shreds.

“ **I see you’ve finally figured it out,** ” he praised, “ **& about time too. I absolutely ** **_love_ ** **seeing my victims writhe in pain!** ” He set the spoon aside & pulled out a steak knife. The kids cowered on the side of the cauldron opposite to his. The demon grabs Pump’s arm & rolls up the shirt sleeve with a sinister giggle. He tried to pull his arm away, but his grip was too strong. Instead, he hides his face in Skid’s shoulder to try & divert his attention away from the impending wound. Skid hugs Pump & tries to comfort him through this. The lemon pressed the knife to the arm diagonally before slowly & painfully sawing into his flesh.

“Ow ow ow! Stop, s-stop!” Pump pleaded. The demon obliged, then letting the blood drip into the pot as he licked the blade clean.

“ **Ah, what a savory addition to the soup,** ” he chuckled, “ **I’m sure the rest of you would taste just as scrumptious.** ” He put the knife down before grabbing the spoon again & stirring the blood into the soup. Little did he know Skid had a trick up his sleeve. The beast took some of the stew into his spoon & put into his mouth. It did not taste the way he wanted.

“Hm… this is terribly salty,” he stated, “Odd since I never put any salt in here.” Pump was confused, while Skid was only pretending to be.

“This isn’t good. I have to start all over.” He pulled the children out of the pot, their clothes stained with stew & their skin red from the boiling water. The lemon emptied the cauldron, & the kids took the opportunity to flee. They went back past the secret door & back to the elevator. Once they thought they were safe, they looked at eachother.

“Why did he let us out?” Pump asked.

“Old habits die hard, I guess,” Skid bantered with a wink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PEE IS STORED IN THE *smudged writing*


	7. Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skid & Pump are in hiding. Skid decides to try & learn more about something that's been around since the encounter with the Eyes of the Universe

The Spookeez had snuck past the monster & into another secret compartment, which seemed to be a potato farm with emergency supplies. Skid was bandaging up Pump’s arm, or at least trying to the best of his ability. He wasn’t very coordinated but ultimately covered the wound. They don’t know how much longer they were gonna be undetected, or if they’ll live to see the sunlight once more. But at least they have each other. Though if they’re not coming home, shouldn’t there at least be some closure about something that came with them? Skid thinks so.

“Hey Pump,” he started, “I’ve been meaning to ask. Ever since we met the Eyes of the Universe, your eyes sometimes glowed cyan, & they’ve been glowing ever since we went down that elevator. Do you know why?” Pump shook his head & shrugged.

“Beats me,” Pump replied. “Though I don’t think they  _ just _ glow.”

“What do you mean?” Skid questioned, his own eyes fixed on his friend’s glowing orbs. The longer he stared into them, the harder it became to disagree with him or look away.

“I think they have powers. Like maybe they could shoot lasers or something- Ooh! Or maybe I could move stuff with my mind! Just picture this: The cookie jar is too high off the shelf, but with the power of the mind, you can get it down & eat all the cookies you want! Or maybe X-ray vision. Like you could look into a box of cereal to see which toy is at the bottom! Or maybe the glowing eyes are just a side effect of another power. Maybe I could teleport, or fly, or phase through walls, or… Skid?”

Skid seemed to be in a trance, his unblinking gaze fixed on Pump as he tried to figure out what was wrong with him. He waved his hand in front of him. No response. He gently shook him. No response.

“Skid? Skid please snap out of it!” begged Pump as he desperately tried to wake him up. Pinching him didn’t work. Cold water didn’t work. Not even slapping him worked. Pump was starting to worry that he had lost Skid, his glowing eyes tearing up as he pulled him into a desperate hug & cried into his shoulder.

“P-please… please wake up…”

The broken eye contact & Pump’s cries echoing in his skull snapped Skid back to reality, where he took a moment to realize what happened & gently reciprocated the hug.

“That was weird,” Skid says. “It was like I was looking at the Eyes again.” Pump hugged him tighter after hearing his voice.

“I don’t want to lose you again!” he shouts, likely accidentally alerting the lemon of their whereabouts. Skid gently pats his back.

“& you’re right about the power thing,” Skid verified “I think you might’ve gotten hypnosis from him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, Grammarly. Glowing & Growing are not the same words but with a typo. Get your shit together.


	8. Exacerbating Dizziness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lemon demon has found the Spookeez' place of hiding & was originally just looking to shed blood & get it over with.

It was inevitable that the Monster would find them. After all, this strange hellhole was only so big. Yet it feels uneasy that he would find them so soon. The beast followed the sounds of their voice to the mirror that showed what Skid & Pump used to look like without their costumes. In the reflection was an ordinary man wearing the same sweater Skid is now wearing. That man in the reflection didn’t matter to him anymore. All that matters now is his bloodlust. He gently opens the door.

“Where did you even get that?” Skid asked Pump, who was holding a digging tool about the size of him.

“I found it on the ground by the sprinklers,” Pump replied.

“That’s a pretty big… uh…” Skid falters. “What is that? My vision’s still a little fuzzy from when you hypnotized me.”

“Oh it’s…” Pump falters too. “ _ Es como una cuchara grande… se usa para cavar- _ ”

“ **A shovel, perhaps?** ” The kids turn towards the voice in alarm, Skid getting in front of Pump while Pump glares at the monster over Skid’s shoulder in an attempt to hypnotize him as he did to Skid.

“Why do you want to kill us so badly?” Challenged Skid as he took the shovel from Pump.

“ **Did the soup not make it obvious?** ” The beast hinted. His gaze was fixed on Skid, & his stare was petrifying.

“Don’t you know how to grow potatoes & carrots?” The boy retorted as he pointed the shovel at him in an attempt to intimidate him.

“ **They won’t satiate me forever.** ” He started to approach them, pulling a machete out of god knows where. Pump realized the hypnosis wouldn’t work unless Mr. Lemon was looking at him, so he tried to grab his attention.

“Back off, you creepy man!” Pump provoked, “ _ ¡Mantente alejado! _ ” The lemon glanced at Pump for a moment, then trying to go around Skid & strike Pump with the machete. Pump maintained eye contact & a deadpan stare, slowly backing away from him as he attempted to hypnotize him. The beast sensed this & attempted to use this against him. He held the flat side of the machete in a way that would show Pump’s reflection against the blade, thus making Pump hypnotize himself. This rendered him incapacitated for a moment, giving the lemon demon a chance to strike. He lifted his blade & started to swing… 

_ Thwack! _

Skid had knocked the weapon out of his hand with his shovel. He laughed a little in triumph but realized he celebrated too early when the monster grabbed the shovel & tried to pull it out of his grasp. Skid tugged & tugged, but lost when the lemon kicked him in the chest & sent him backward. At that point, Pump had come back to his senses & picked up the machete, looking for the perfect moment to strike. Skid was also picking himself up, glaring at the demon.

“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size!  _ Bitch! _ ” He quickly covered his mouth. Everyone, including Skid himself, was shocked at what came out of his mouth. & the monster was furious at this.

“ **Funny,** ” the lemon growled as he lifted his shovel, “ **This wasn’t personal before.** ” He slammed down the shovel onto Skid’s head, the impact sending shockwaves through his skull & worsening the pre-existing crack under the bandaid.

“SKID!” Pump yelped & ran to Skid’s side. The shovel was then lifted off of Skid’s head, & he collapsed into unconsciousness. Pump tried to pick him up but was yanked back by the lemon, who then picked Skid up & walked out the door.

  
“ **Petty brat!** ” The lemon monster takes Skid to a room behind the corruption mirror, leaving Pump to mourn over him.


	9. Don't Drink the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pump is looking for Skid & comes across a colorful cave with a bucket of water. I think you know what he does.

Once Pump regained his composure, he decided to try & look for Skid. He held the machete the monster dropped & walked out of the room before looking at the door to see which mirror this was. This mirror showed Pump as an adult. This was the mirror Skid found his sweater at. He turned to face away from the mirror & looked to the left. There was the busted elevator. He looked to the right. There was the dead-end with the three mirrors. He went to the right, looking through each door as he did with no signs of Skid. Some of the doors lead to more doors, & some of those doors lead to more doors, & some of those doors… you get the point.

Pump turned this hellhole upside down trying to look for Skid until he got to the three main mirrors. He knew Skid & Mr. Lemon were in one of them. But which one?

He looked past the B-side mirror first. It leads to a door with a window. When he peeks into the window, there’s a music-producing studio in there. Odd for a cannibal monster thing to produce music. But no sign of Skid.

He then looks past the desire-showing mirror & finds a smaller tunnel going upwards. He goes through it, noticing the path is oddly long & winds a lot. Step by step by step… he was becoming exhausted. It soon got to a point where he felt his ears pop. How much farther did he have to walk?

He soon made it to the top of the path, finding himself in a strange cave with glowing crystals everywhere. He laid on the ground from the exhaustion, looking up at the crystals & pretending they’re stars in a rainbow galaxy.

“ _ Eso fue agotador… _ ” he mumbled lethargically, noticing the sweat on his body from all that walking. His thoughts started to wander into a more pious territory. He thought back on when he first met the Eyes of the Universe. He was told to always look at the stars. He looked whenever he had the chance. It felt like the stars looked back. But now there are no stars to look at. Where will he look? Will the crystals be a good substitute? He gazed up at the crystals, looking for a sign. A sign that everything will be okay.

His thoughts were interrupted by a dripping sound, & he turned to see what it was. Water was dripping off of a stalactite into a bucket. He stood up & walked over to the bucket. It was about a quarter of the way full. The water also looked strangely murky. He didn’t care though. Water is water, he thought, & all that walking made him thirsty. He picked up the bucket & brought it to his mouth, then tilting it & drinking the fluid in the bucket. It tasted strangely like charcoal. Once he was satiated, he set the bucket down & looked around the cave for any sign of Skid. The cave was otherwise vacant. Then, as if on cue, footsteps were heard from the tunnel, along with that deep voice humming a festive melody. Pump scurried to hide behind a larger crystal, hoping he doesn’t find him.

“ **Gonna take a piece of your rabies & vivisect your mind~** ” The beast looked among some of the smaller red crystals, before taking a bone saw & cutting off the tip of one & putting it in a basket.

“ **Snowmen smiling with your teeth~** ” He started back down the tunnel. “ **Fallen angels created with your meat~** ” Pump sighed in relief once he was out of earshot before starting to stand up. He then felt a sharp pain in his abdomen & fell to his knees. What was it this time? Well, it seems like the roots inside him have grown longer, wrapped themselves between his intestines & punctured his liver. He also felt discomfort in his nostrils & throat, rubbing at where his nose was to find that a vine had made its way through & was poking out. This was hell to him, & he wanted out.

“S-Skid…” he cried desperately, knowing damn well he isn’t getting help here, “…p-please help…” He looked into the reflection of the machete he brought, seeing his tears well up like a dam was broken. He hoped Skid was also looking for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skid chapter's next.


	10. Lemondrop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skid wakes up in the Monster’s clutches, & the monster plans to break him

Skid wakes with a horrible migraine. His vision was fuzzy. The lights were too bright. He couldn’t move his arms & legs- oh wait he was chained to a table. Where was he anyway? He looked around to see if Pump was near. There was a table off to the side with Lego models of Tokyo City, Godzilla, the Batmobile, & various other characters. For some reason, Chuck Norris was hanging from a string just above the city alongside several angels. This perplexed the already confused child even more.

“ **Call into the night~** ” Skid turned to look for the monster’s voice. “ **To the werewolf~** ”

“Why am I here?” Skid asked with a nervous tone in his voice. The beast paused his singing & went to check on his captive.

“ **Ah, you’re awake,** ” he chirped, “ **I was worried my lemondrop wasn’t going to wake.** ”

“I’m sorry, your what?” Skid perplexed, “Did I hear you right? Lemondrop?”

“ **You heard me loud & clear, Skid.**” The Lemon Demon undid the chains on Skid’s arms. Skid tried to sit up, but felt a throbbing pain in his skull. He clutched his head to try & ease the pain & noticed something off. A crystal lodged into the crack in his skull where the bandaid once was.

“ **Ah, right. I hit your head pretty hard, didn’t I?** ” The monster said as he dimmed the lights to Skid’s comfort level. Skid sat up to the best of his ability & looked around some more. There was bone glue on the table, as well as a bone saw & a vial containing a chip of Skid’s skull & a dirtied up pumpkin seed.

“What’s all this?” Skid shivered in a confused fear, “Why is there a crystal in my head? Why is a piece of my skull in a vial?”

“ **The vial is irrelevant,** ” the monster answered as he picked up the vial & put it on a shelf, “ **The crystal, on the other hand, is part of the transformation process.** ”

“Transformation?” Skid asked, “Into what?”

“ **The perfect killing machine.** ” Skid felt the words echo through his mind & a tingly sensation from where the Crystal was. His hands twitched anxiously. He tugged against the chains on his legs. Whatever it was, it was getting to his head already.

“ **You must be peckish, right?** ” Skid was uncomfortable that the demon knew how he felt even before he did. “ **Well lucky for you, I brought a snack.** ” He went into a closet & opened the freezer in the closet. He pulled a kidney out of the freezer before closing that & the closet & bringing the organ to Skid.

“ **It’s all or nothing, Lemondrop.** ” Skid looked at the kidney. It was in a ziploc baggie, & was still frozen. It also appeared too large to belong to Pump. Skid sighed & decided to use it as an ice pack for his aching head until it thaws.

Time had passed. The monster was working on something involving a store-bought lemon & that weird water that was dripping from the cave. Skid’s face was soaked in meltwater. & Skid was hungry. He stared at the kidney in disgust. He did not want to eat it. But what else is the monster going to give him? He closed his eyes & reluctantly pulled the organ out of the ziploc bag. It felt firm, yet slimy at the same time. Kinda like a sponge covered in toothpaste. He took a deep breath & brought it to his mouth before reluctantly taking a bite out of it. The taste was similar to that of urine, & was worsened by freezer burn. Nonetheless, he persisted, bite after bite, until he downed the entire kidney.

“ **Did you enjoy it?** ” The demon asked as he brought the blackened lemon to the table. Skid kept his mouth closed to keep himself from throwing up, instead simply shaking his head at him. “ **Ah, what else was I to expect from an organ designed to create waste? Next time, I’ll bring you a cleaner organ, like maybe a heart.** ” The monster soon placed a blindfold on the child & laid him down, chaining his arms back down. Skid grew uneasy & tried to listen for anything that’s happening. Footsteps going away from him. Footsteps going back towards him. A wet hand on his forehead.

“ **There’s the paint from the bloodbath,** ” the lemon demon murmurs to himself, “ **Now for the fluid ingestion.** ” Skid had no idea what he was talking about until a slice of lemon was pressed against his mouth.

“ **It’s sour, but it should cleanse your mouth of the taste of kidney.** ” Skid pressed his tongue against it & felt around to make sure it wasn’t another human organ. Thankfully it wasn’t. He took the lemon slice into his mouth & sucked on it, finding the taste indescribable, equally foul on the opposite end of the spectrum as the kidney. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to spit it out. His mouth & head had begun to feel hot. He could feel the monster hovering over him, chanting & hexxing.

**_May you find hunger in your pain_ **

**_Without a slaughter, you will drain_ **

**_Your mind will crack, the souls will laugh_ **

**_Til’ all is madness in your brain_ **

Skid felt his throat become dry & his gums inflame. The transformation had begun.

**_May you find pleasure in the kill_ **

**_With manic laughter, blood will spill_ **

**_Your brain hijacked, you won’t turn back_ **

**_Til’ the Lemondrop has its fill_ **

His eyes went red & blood started to come out of them. The tips of his fingers were becoming sharper. He tried to scream in pain. He tried to scream for help. But no sound came out.

**_May you find beauty in the gore_ **

**_May you shun all who stand before_ **

**_Rise, Lemondrop, & do not stop_ **

**_Til existence is nevermore_ **

The blindfold is removed, followed by his chains. He spat out the lemon, which had been sucked dry, & sat up. His vision was still fuzzy from the head trauma, but had since gotten a little better. He is picked up & taken off the table by the monster.

“ **How do you feel, lemondrop?** ” Skid did not respond immediately Once he did, it was similar to how the chants described. Soft laughter, slowly becoming louder & louder, until he’s cackling in pain & sobbing in joy. The transformation was a success.


	11. Mother Knows... Something, I guess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila gets a sign from the stars to look for Skid & Pump & is met with a sour surprise

Skid’s mother, Lila, sat in the grass outside her house, mourning over Skid & Pump. All she knew is that the elevator broke & the children’s bodies are down there. But what else could she know? That the fall killed the kids? That the kids died later of various other circumstances? That the kids are still alive down there? Perhaps, at least, she could know if this is the first time it happened.

She picked up her phone & went to Google. She searched up the name of the company that did the experiment. She found articles stating that their practices are immoral & inhumane. Not much about the elevator so far. She found adverts for the company. No elevators directly mentioned, but she had noticed mention of the depths of vanity, which was the third floor down. Why would Pump’s father sign his child up for an experiment where they get traumatized by a scary fish? She then found what she was looking for: an article about the elevators.

The article, which was written 3 years prior to when the Spookeez were entered, stated that the company has ignored warnings about their faulty elevators several times now, & that a young man from a local college had fallen down a broken elevator 5 years before the article. The company brushed it off as his “school mascot costume exceeding weight limit.” A picture of the man showed him in a blue college sweater with a large lemon mask off to the side. It didn’t look that heavy. Lila was already going to sue them for the wrongful death of her child, she might as well bring up these OSHA violations.

But what now? She isn’t going to the courtroom until next week. So what is she going to do?

She thought about that day when those robbers were in her house. Skid came home with Pump by his side & claimed that they met a new friend, & that said friend showed them the stars. What was it about the stars that was so special? Were they taken to an area with less light pollution?

She sighs & lies down in the grass, staring up at what few stars she could see. It felt like the stars were staring back down at her. Maybe she shouldn’t take the stars for granted. Perhaps the children are with them, frolicking in the flowers & eating as much candy as they want. She took a deep breath & decided to ask for a sign.

“Hey… I know this might be much to ask,” she asked towards the skies, “but whoever’s out there, can I have some hope that my son & his friend are still alive down there? Or perhaps some closure that they’re not?” She felt her eyes water a little. “Please… I need to know…”

A shooting star was seen soaring across the sky in the direction of the lab building. What does this mean? Are they alive? Are they in trouble? She wasn’t waiting to find out. She got in her car & started to drive there.

Once she was there, she snuck out of her car & tried to find a way into the building without being caught by security. The door was open for some reason. Strange. She grabbed a flashlight & crept in. The building was dark. She turned on the flashlight, looking around for where the elevator room was. She felt her face turn pale as she looked through each door, seeing what she thought were torture devices. Before she could get to the elevator room, however, she saw a dark figure go into the room adjacent to it. She held her breath & turned off her flashlight, hoping she wouldn't get arrested by them.

“ **Hey little man~** ” the figure’s voice sang, “ **Whatcha doing here?~** ” A sharp chill went down Lila’s spine hearing the voice. It was like an uncanny valley, but for voices. She peeked into the room to see who & what made the voice & found himself looking at the very same lemon mascot she saw in the article, albeit without the college sweater. They seemed to be crouched down, vivisecting a man with a dull scalpel. She quickly hid behind the wall, covering her mouth with a shaking hand to keep herself quiet. That man who was presumed dead from an elevator accident was still alive. But how?

“ **Come grab my hand & we will…** ” The strange man stood up straight & went to check outside the door. The mom panicked when she ended up making eye contact with him. The monster grabbed her wrist & turned on the flashlight, shining it on both of their faces & glaring Lila down. That wasn’t a mask anymore!

“ **Keep this between us, else you’ll end up like the orange one’s father,** ” the lemon threatened, “ **Understood?** ” Lila let out a fearful scream before running out of the building. However, she had no choice but to oblige to what the beast said if she had any hope of seeing Skid or Pump again.


	12. Blood Cough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skid & Pump reunite, & Pump finds out about Skid’s new transformation in the worst way possible

Just as Pump hoped, Skid was looking for him. Although Skid had new intentions now.

Skid had some trouble walking, likely as a result of head trauma. But he got around just fine with the femur cane the Monster gave him. He was left unattended, & was exploring behind the mirror doors. He glanced over towards the mirror where the potato garden was, & felt his body shake. He wasn’t sure if it was from psychological trauma or from the urge to drag Pump out & rip his intestines in half. He checked inside the room, & was disappointed to see it vacant. Where could he be?

He heard a harsh coughing from behind the desire mirror, then starting to approach it. He noticed his reflection has changed. He was still with his mom & Pump, but he had merged with his costume in this desire. The boy he once was didn’t matter to him anymore. He pushed open the door, & started to climb up the tunnel. He found it significantly more difficult than Pump did. His knees hurt, he still had a headache, & phantom pains in his skin were coming back to haunt him. He gave up the climb a quarter of the way, curling up on the ground in pain & laughing to himself.

Pump, meanwhile, had regained the strength to go back down the tunnel. Problem was it was a lot steeper than it looked. He lost his footing, dropped his machete, & tumbled down into the wall, bruising his face, arms, & legs, & dislocating his shoulder. The blade slid after like ice on a table.

“Ouch!” Pump yelped, whimpering in pain. This alerted the skeleton, who stood & continued to climb the tunnel until he got face to face with his injured friend.

“Pump?” Skid asks, “Is that you?” Pump nods & tries to scoot closer to him. Skid approaches, examining his condition. Pump was holding his shoulder in pain & having trouble moving it.

“Are you okay?” Skid asked again. Pump shook his head.

“My shoulder hurts…” Skid examined it before determining that it was dislocated.

“Here, I’ll help you,” he states as he gently grabs his shoulder, giving Pump no time to brace himself as he pops it back into place.

“OW!” He squeaked in pain, gently holding the shoulder. “That hurt!” Skid gently kisses the shoulder before looking Pump up & down.  _ Kill him, Eat him, _ Skid heard. The voices distressed him & he held his head, giggling in worried madness.

“Are you alright?” Pump asked in concern. Skid shook away the laughter upon hearing his voice.

“I don’t know,” Skid responded, “but how about we go back down?” Before Pump could respond, Skid rolled back down on his sides, finding it much easier than walking down. Pump sighs & rolls along with him. Soon they were both rolling downhill & laughing joyfully while doing so. None of their problems mattered at that very moment. They were just rolling along & having a good time.

Once they were at the bottom, they brushed the dirt off their clothes & tried to walk off their dizziness. Skid laughs joyfully & pulls Pump into a hug, which he gladly reciprocates. Well, it was gladly until Skid saw something shiny in the corner of his eye. He pulled from the hug & approached the colored string mirror, finding & picking up a pair of scissors. This isn’t gonna end well. Skid entered the room he found it next to, expecting Pump to follow. Pump, none the wiser about what happened to Skid, followed.

They found themselves in a brightly-lit white room with a blue bed & metallic countertops & trays. The room was similar to that of an OR. Pump sat on the bed to better rest his head, & Skid looked at what was on the countertops. He giggled a little seeing all these shiny things, but a box of zip ties seemed to catch his attention the most. He grabbed one & looked over at Pump.  _ Tie him down, Dissect him, _ Skid wanted the voices to shut up, but was falling to their mercy as he approached Pump.

“Skid?” He asked with a tense tone in his voice, “What are you doing?” Skid climbed on the bed & on top of Pump, then grabbing his hands & binding them behind his back with the zip tie. He started to giggle twistedly.

“S-skid, please, this isn’t funny…” Skid looked him up & down with a demented grin on his face. He then noticed a vine sticking out from Pump’s nose & reached his finger in to try & pull it out. Once his claw got a hold of it, he tried to pull it out. More & more of the vine went through Pump’s nostril until it wasn’t going through anymore.

“It’s stuck,” he says, “Maybe it needs some force.” He then proceeds to yank on the vine, eliciting a yelp in pain from Pump.

“S-Skid, stop!” Pump begged in a cough, “You’re p-pulling my tummy!” Skid paused the yanking, thinking for a moment. He opened Pump’s mouth, trying to look inside. He saw a green silhouette among the red flesh & grinned upon seeing it’s the vine.

“Aha! I know a way to get it out of your nose!” Skid resounded with laughter in his speech.

“& that is?” Pump responded. Skid laughed deviously & looked for something to hold Pump’s mouth open. The pumpkin watched with a bad feeling in his gut.

“Skid, this isn’t like you. What happened?” Pump asked. Skid cackled with a sinister glint in his eye before grabbing a dental gag.

“Oh, I dunno. Mr. Lemon turned me into his little Lemondrop & now I’ve got voices in my head.”

“I’m sorry, he did WHA-” Pump was interrupted when Skid shoved the gag into his mouth, spreading it so that Pump couldn’t close his mouth.

“Now, it’s time to get that thing out of here.” He pulls out the scissors in his dominant hand, pulls the vine to its limit in his other hand, & slowly reaches into Pump’s mouth with the scissors. Pump holds himself very still, as to avoid Skid accidentally cutting him with the scissors. Soon enough, the vine was cut, & Skid pulled the vine section out through Pump’s nose. Oddly enough, there was blood coming from his nose, despite no part of his nostril being damaged by him. Blood was instead coming out of the vine itself. How bizarre. Pump sighed in relief feeling the vine come out of his nose. Perhaps Skid wasn’t so messed up after all- Nevermind he just sliced the roof of Pump’s mouth open on purpose.

Pump let out a pained scream, kicking at him to get him to stop. He didn’t. Skid then dug the scissor blades into Pump’s shoulders, drawing blood & screams. Pump started crying & kicking at him more. One kick hit him in the groin, causing Skid to groan in pain & drop his weapon, giving Pump a chance to roll off of the bed & escape. Skid allowed Pump to escape his grasps, knowing damn well he was still handicapped & likely to get caught by the lemon.

For now, Skid just laughed and cried on the foot of the bed.


End file.
